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Our annual show is run by members of the Society who do everything from setting up on Friday morning to taking down and closing up on Sunday night. Our Show Committee of dedicated enthusiasts needs your help and support to make the show happen. Many of them will be at the Sportsplex throughout the 3-day period but they can’t do everything themselves!

We particularly need people to help with the following areas:

• Admissions
• Hospitality
• Visitor services

Each of these key areas needs to have a minimum of two or three volunteers on site throughout the hours the show is open, and in the case of hospitality and visitor services we also need people to set up beforehand and be there during the takedown. Volunteers are asked to put in just a few hours and the work is not difficult. By signing up as a volunteer you get free admission to the show, and you also have the satisfaction of helping us to put on the best show possible. Your contribution will certainly be appreciated by all of us on the Show Committee!

We need people to sit at the admission desk, collect the admission money from Show visitors and hand out tickets. This is obviously a vital function and we need to have people on hand throughout the opening hours.

We need volunteers to help with the organization of the “behind-the-scenes” buffet for exhibitors, vendors and Society volunteers. Most of the food will be purchased items but we also welcome contributions from Society members who like cooking! Anyone who has been involved in previous years will know how popular this feature of the show is, but like everything else it takes work to set up and maintain throughout the show.

Volunteers are needed to interact with the public during the Show, including taking the tickets and providing the hand stamp at admissions, monitoring exit doors, etc. Some visitors may be unclear about the layout of the Show - where is the exit door, what times are we open, when can I come back in with my hand stamp, etc. Sometimes visitors want to know the location of facilities in the Sportsplex (washrooms, ATM machine, elevator, etc). It is important that visitors enjoy the show and feel “at home” - we want people to leave with a positive impression! At the same time we want to keep an eye on the displays and make sure no-one gets too close in their enthusiasm to check plant names or take photos. If any incidents or accidents do occur, the Show Chairman will be on hand to take care of them.

If you would like to volunteer please send us an email with your name and phone number and indicate when you are available and what you would like to do. We also have sign-up sheets for all volunteer positions at our regular Sunday meetings.

Don’t be shy - by volunteering you will be helping the Society and you will also have more fun at the Show (not to mention the excellent hospitality!)

We also need volunteers for other positions, including Art Gallery, Ottawa display setup, Fragrance display setup, general set-up and take-down, show photography and orchid doctor. How do I volunteer? Please send us an email if you are willing to volunteer in any of these areas, or check the sign-up sheets at monthly meetings.

Remember, all volunteers get free admission!

Any Society member can volunteer, and you can also recommend colleagues, friends or relatives too. Just be sure to let us know all the volunteer names so we can make up nametags.

Any Society member can volunteer, and you can also recommend colleagues, friends or relatives too. Just be sure to let us know all the volunteer names so we can make up nametags.

We need people who can be in the Art Gallery during opening hours, to answer people’s questions, make sure the exhibits are not being touched  and record information about any sales of artwork. This is not a very demanding job and you could be sitting down most of the time, but we need someone on hand throughout the opening hours.